


Soundcheck Shenanigans

by Random_Nerd3



Series: All Things JatP By Random_Nerd3 [21]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Bobby isn't a jerk you guys are just mean, But It's Okay Because Luke And Alex Are There, Gen, Here Have Some Slight Fluff After I Destroyed You All With My Whump, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reggie Gets Sensory Overloaded, Reggie Has ADHD (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Has Bad Parents (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Needs a Hug (Julie and The Phantoms), Soft Ending, drabble i guess, himbos in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27000655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3
Summary: The fabric of Reggie's jacket was suddenly much more… uncomfortable, then it usually was. It was too tight in his shoulders, and the collar was messing with his guitar strap. Not to mention, now that he was thinking about the stage lights were definitely brighter than they usually were. It felt like everything was going wrong, but he couldn’t stop the band from finishing the soundcheck. He couldn’t let them hold off on a gig just because he felt a little bit off.
Relationships: Alex & Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex/Luke Patterson/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson & Reggie & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: All Things JatP By Random_Nerd3 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939114
Comments: 14
Kudos: 409





	Soundcheck Shenanigans

The thing was, Reggie didn’t even know when it happened, just that it _did_ . _Sunset Curve_ was soundchecking for a performance, because it was Saturday so of course they were. The performance started off fine, maybe a little bit rocky on Reggie’s part, but that was just because of the annoying clatter from the bartender’s dishes. They wrapped up _Crooked Teeth_ , which Reggie swore was about Alex, but there was no denying the fact that it was actually about him. Luke had even managed to work a little bit of country twang into it and made it sound _cool_. “Reggie, you good?” Luke asked as they set up for the next song. Reggie adjusted his bass strap, suddenly feeling like it was too tight against his neck.

“Reg?” Alex asked, looking at him over his drum set. He shedded his leather jacket and dropped it on the ground next to him. The fabric of the jacket was suddenly much more… _uncomfortable_ , then it usually was. It was too tight in his shoulders, and the collar was messing with his guitar strap. Not to mention, now that he was thinking about the stage lights were _definitely_ brighter than they usually were. It felt like everything was going wrong, but he couldn’t stop the band from finishing the soundcheck. He couldn’t let them hold off on a gig just because he felt a little bit off. Shaking his head he fumbled with the adjustment on his bass strap.

  
“Stop babying me. I’m fine,” Reggie said. He’d feel guilty about snapping at them later, but right now he just wanted to get through the rest of the gig and find a quiet room where he can ride out the rest of the unsettling feeling curdling in his gut. He shook it out and winked at Luke from behind his mic stand, shooting him one of his signature flirty smiles. Bobby rolled his eyes as he started up the rhythm for their next song.

“Luke, if Reggie says he’s fine then he’s fine. I don’t know about you but I saw some good looking chicks and dudes outside. If we wrap up early we can go see if we can’t get dates,” Bobby said, adjusting the height of his mic stand. Luke glanced at Reggie one last time before starting them off on _My Name Is Luke,_ they planned on saving _Now Or Never_ for their big closer. It was what they always did when they debuted a new song, saving it for the last in the set. As they continued with the check Reggie stayed by his mic, which he was sure would bite him in the ass later, judging by the concerned look Luke shot him from across the stage. The rest of the sound check went by without any interruptions, and they were all high on pre-performance endorphins by the time they rolled out _Now or Never_.

About an hour after their soundcheck Bobby was going all in with the ladies. Reggie watched his band mate cast the hook, line, and fail at picking up a chick from a table. “He’s an idiot,” Luke said as he slid onto the stool next to him. Reggie nodded, then snickered when Bobby got slapped upside the head by a girl… who then turned to give her friend a kiss on the lips. Luke let out a low whistle, “I definitely didn’t expect that to happen.” Reggie rolled his eyes,

“Alex would’ve called it from a mile away.” Reaching out he grabbed his glass of water - the band had a strict no-drinking policy when it came to performance nights - and the cool texture of the glass helped calm his nerves. He ran his thumb around the glass’s lip. Repeating the motion helped him focus on what Luke was saying. “What?” Reggie asked after Luke spent a few minutes just staring at him. Luke let out a soft chuckle and took a drink out of his own glass of water. 

“Nothing, it's just… something seems off about you. You didn’t want to sing with me during soundcheck,” Luke said. Reggie fidget uncomfortably, he felt like he was caught in a lie, like he was about to get scolded. He dropped his right hand and started to fiddle with the arms of his jacket, which he tied to his waist after they were done with the soundcheck. Luke’s hand wrapped around his, and Reggie went from messing with Luke’s fingers. He ran his own fingers through them, knotting them up and twisting them about. He poked at them and prodded them and massaged the meat of Luke’s hand with his thumb. Reggie didn’t know how much time had passed, but it was long enough for Alex to return to the bar with messed up hair and flushed cheeks.

“Hi, everything alright here?” Alex asked, slightly glancing at Luke for help. Reggie nodded, still focused on kneading Luke’s fingers together. In an act of betrayal Luke shook his head saying,

“He’s been at this for ten minutes.” Reggie stopped to pull his hands away from Luke’s. He hadn’t realized it had been _that_ long. Luke probably wanted to go hit on the cute girls too… who was Reggie to stop him doing what he wanted? “Hey,” Luke said, pulling Reggie’s hand back into his. Alex placed a hand against Reggie’s back and he instantly felt more relaxed. “It’s okay Reggie,” Luke said, eyes wide with concern. “Take as long as you need,” Luke said, running a hand through Reggie’s hair. Reggie let out a sob then reached forward and rested his head against Luke’s shoulder.

“Hey, hey,” Alex said, starting to draw circles against Reggie’s back. Reggie took a shuddering breath as he let Luke wrap him in his strong, sleeveless arm. _How is he never cold?_ Reggie wondered as Luke’s warmth encased him like a protective bubble. “You’re okay, everything’s going to be okay,” Alex said, talking in a low, comforting voice. The venue was getting too loud, and Reggie couldn’t push it all out of his mind like he usually did. He couldn’t play his bass to distract him because his bass was locked up in it’s case in the green room. He couldn’t lose himself to his flannel because, like an idiot, he left it at home in a rush to avoid another one of his parent’s fights. All he had was his dumb, stupid, too-tight leather jacket that was just created for the sole purpose of making him suffer. Reggie avoided Luke’s eyes and turned his attention to picking at a loose thread on the cuff of the jacket tied to his waist.

“Reggie, you still with us?” Luke asked, his voice floating into his mind through the fog. Reggie nodded, though he still couldn’t bring himself to actually look at Luke. “It’s okay that your brain works differently than ours Reg.” Alex’s hands massaged Reggie’s shoulders as the drummer said,

“We told you that if you feel… whatever it is… acting up you can come to us. We won’t judge you, and we won’t let Bobby judge you.” Reggie let out a weak-sounding chuckle as he looked back to their rhythm guitarist, still trying and failing to pick up a girl at the bar. He managed to gather the strength to tip his head up and look Luke in the face. 

Luke’s smile was worth it. 

“There you are!” Luke said with a smile, reaching up to gently cup Reggie’s face. Reggie smiled back at Luke, finally finding he was able to focus on the guitarist.

“Hi,” Reggie said with small wave. He turned in his seat so his back was leaning against the counter. Both Alex and Luke were smiling like he lit up the sun, Reggie didn’t understand why but if him talking made them happy, then he’d do it more often. “I’m sorry about this,” Reggie said, still worried he was overstepping some sort of unseen boundary. Luke just ran a hand through Reggie’s hair with that dopey grin on his face.

“Don’t apologize, It isn’t your fault Reggie.” Luke said, like he knew exactly what Reggie was thinking. “Should we cancel the gig?” Luke asked suddenly, breaking the silence. Reggie shook his head frantically.

“No, no we can’t. We’ve been looking forward to this all month!” Reggie insisted at Luke’s look of disbelief. Alex managed to calm Reggie down before his panic got too far.

“We won’t cancel… but promise us if you ever let It get bad again tell us right away okay?” Alex asked, looking Reggie dead in the eyes. Reggie hesitated, but inevitably ended up nodding in agreement.

“Okay, I promise to come to you guys,” Reggie said, hoping he sounded more believable than he felt. Luke and Alex seemed to buy it, because Luke pulled out his songbook and started flipping through a few of his newer unfinished works. A few minutes of Luke muttering lyrics and Alex drumming a set of silverware against the counter passed before Reggie managed to pluck up the courage to say, “thank you.” Luke looked up and smiled, Alex mimicking him.

“Of course Reg,” Luke said, giving him a half-shoulder hug. “Anything for you, you know that.” A mischievous smirk crossed Reggie’s face as he reached across the bar counter.

“Anything Luke? Swallow a spoonful of pure salt.” Reggie reached up and tipped the salt on top of Luke’s head. Reggie’s laughter sounded through the air as Luke tried to shake his head free of salt.

“ You absolute _shit_ ,” Luke cursed, “my hair is my best feature!” Alex just laughed at Luke’s suffering with Reggie.

“Hey man, at least he didn’t touch your songbook,” Alex pointed out. Reggie’s eyes darted down at the book in question. Luke snagged it off the table and stuffed it back into his bag before he had a chance to do anything.

“You want to start a prank war, you’ve got one.” Luke said, and Reggie suddenly felt like he started something he wouldn’t be able to finish.

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-Nerd-3


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